Memorising Memories
by ReNeOed
Summary: Hermione and Ron have just returned to their home country from Australia after months, and the first thing on Hermione's mind is finding Harry to see if he has forgiven them for the way they had left things between them. Turns out Harry doesn't even know what there was to forgive, or who she is. ... Assumes no past Harry/Ginny relationship.
1. First Impressions

1\. First Impressions

* * *

Somehow, he had still not seen her. Even though she had already been here for FOUR minutes!

'Okay, calm down, calm down!', she told herself. Four minutes wasn't a very long time. And it wasn't as if her arrival had created a scene; it had rather been disappointingly insignificant since she wasn't familiar with most of the people present. The few people who had recognised her had been surprisingly cool about it. Just "Oh hey! It's you. Where did you come from? Well, it's nice to see you. Ok bye!"

And the place was quite packed. It had been kinda hard to constantly keep him in her sight from across the room. And it was probably why despite glancing in her direction a few times, Harry had been unable to see her. Why couldn't someone just go and tell him to turn her way for more than a couple of seconds? Admittedly, she had asked them not to. But still...

Parvati came up to her with a tired look. "How long are you just going to stand here looking at him? Go."

"What if he's mad?" Her voice came out as a squeak.

"He's not going to be mad." Hermione just responded with a roll of her eyes. "Fine! But so what if he's mad? You're not just gonna run off without meeting him, are you?"

That was a valid point. If she wasn't going to meet him, what was the point of coming here? "But still, I don't want to - I don't know."

"Fine! Do whatever you want." Parvati told her, walking away.

"Wait, wait! Where is he going?"

"What? Oh, just the bathroom, probably. Hermione, now don't just keep standing here like an idiot. It's been, like, ten minutes."

"It's been Four! But yeah, okay." She told Parvati, starting to walk towards him. She stopped a little ways away from him in a narrow corridor where he was waiting outside a door. After a few seconds, the door opened and someone came out and he went in. 'This is it. Don't freak out. It's gonna be ok. It's gonna be ok.'

"HERMIONE? Holy shit! How are you? Wow!"

"Neville!" She said in surprise as he came in for a short hug. "What happened to you? You look... Great."

"Haha... Thanks. You look pretty good yourself. Wow, it's been so long."

"Yeah! It has!"

"I didn't even know you were back. Is Ron here as well?"

"Yes. Well, not here. He's with his family. He wasn't sure how Harry would respond to seeing us. And uh," she gave a nervous chuckle, "well, neither am I, but... Bill said Fleur was here. And he said a lot of you guys were gonna be here. And then I thought... Why not?"

"Yeah? Well, it's great to have you here. How long are you here for?"

"We're not really sure. At least for a week, but after that, we'll see. Depends on a few things. Like Harry!"

"Um, so you haven't talked to him yet?" He asked cautiously, pointing towards the bathroom.

"No. It's just so crowded. I just came two minutes ago and I was looking around and I saw him going in there and... Do you think he'll be mad?" Hermione finished in a slightly desperate tone.

Neville just shook his head, giving her a nervous smile. "Sorry, I don't know. I mean - it's you. Heh, he'd probably be very happy to see you but... I really don't know, Hermione. Do you want me to talk to him first? I mean or do you want to surprise him yourself?"

"No, no, it's ok."

"Ok, I'll be right here, okay? Wait, actually, I'll go and get Fleur. She'll keep him calm, just in case."

"Okay." 'This isn't gonna be pretty.'

A few seconds later, she heard a flush and then the sound of someone washing their hands.

'Crap, crap, crap, crap...' And there he was.

Looking at her.

He smiled.

She smiled back with immeasurable relief.

He was walking towards her.

Could she dare hope? Was he gonna hug her?

"Uh, sorry, excuse me." He said when his leg lightly bumped hers as he passed by.

She turned back to see him walking away saying, "Hello people!" to a bunch of confused faces.

"Where is she?" He then asked Fleur, who had just arrived with Neville.

"Right behind you, Harry." Neville told him.

Harry turned back and for a fleeting moment, looked at her but then turned back to Neville. "What? Where - Oh, there you are." He said as a girl with short black hair came by holding a baby.

"Hey, beautiful." Harry said softly, taking the tiny thing carefully into his arms. "Hey, hey, hey... Oh you're growing up so quickly."

"So is she calling you mama yet, Fleur?"

"'Arry, behind you?" She said with a nervous smile.

Suddenly, Hermione was under the gaze of seven different pairs of eyes.

"What?" He looked back at Fleur for a second and then turned back towards Hermione.

After a few seconds of staring, he quietly asked the raven haired girl, "Who is that?"

The girl shrugged, looking away from Hermione towards the rest of the group who were all looking at Harry like he had just eaten Victoire.

"Harry?" Hermione said, in a weak voice.

"Um, hello?" He said to her in a confused voice, glancing at the baby in his arms, as if looking for guidance.

"Harry, come on. Stop torturing her." Neville said to him.

"What? I'm sorry... Uh, I'm having a little trouble placing you."

"It's not funny, man." Neville spoke again.

"Yes, it's not. You guys are freaking me out." He said to all the quiet faces surrounding them. "Hey, are you okay?" He asked, coming closer to Hermione who looked like she was ready to cry.

"So you don't remember me at all, huh?" Hermione asked, doing her best to sound as strong as she could muster.

"I'm sorry, I'm trying to, but no."

"Oh, come on!" "Harry!" "What the hell?" "Who is that?"

"I'm sorry. I'm trying but I'm really having trouble remembering."

"Yes, sure you are." Hermione said in a mocking tone, wiping her tears messily and then marched straight past him. "Sorry I came here."

"Stop her, Harry." Parvati quickly said loudly.

"Hey wait!"

She turned around, the angry tears clearly visible on her face for everyone to see.

"Just... Give me a hint?" He said with a gentle smile.

"Fuck off!" Hermione spat at him and walked out.

"OK? Would someone explain to me what the hell that was?" Harry asked , turning back to the people behind him, ignoring the looks he was getting from nearly everyone present.

"Still? Oh come on, Harry." Neville said exasperatedly.

"Fleur? Help me, please."

"You shouldn't've done that, 'Arry."

"Done what?"

"I can't believe you'd treat Hermione like that." Neville asked.

"Yeah, what happened between you guys? I didn't know it was this serious." Parvati said, Hannah nodding beside her.

"Give us a minute, guys," said Fleur, taking his arm and dragging him back to a bedroom and closed the door.

"I can't believe you would do that, Harry."

Harry just rolled his eyes. "Come on, not you too!"

"Harry, I get that you're hurt but you saw her, no?"

"Well, yeah, she sure was pissed off."

"Yes, and you did that."

"But I didn't do anything."

"How would you feel if I treated you like that?"

"Why would you ever forget who I was? And if you were acting, Den my baby girl would set her mama right, wouldn't she, wouldn't she?"

"'Arry, I'm serious."

"Well, no way, Fleur. There's no way I'm ever letting you forget me."

"Are you serious?"

"Of course I'm serious. You know I love you."

"No, are you still going to pretend like you don't know who that was?"

"I'm not pretending. I really don't know."

"Harry, 'Ermione!"

"I think I need some more information."

"Your best friend?"

"What? Like when I was a year old, do you mean?"

"NO! I mean your whole life! After you became... Eleven."

"Oh come on. Is this some sort of a prank?"

"NO!"

"Well... Then how could you call someone I've never even seen before my best friend? You'll hurt Victoire's feelings. Don't listen to mama. You're shtill my besht friend."

"You two, well, you three, you were famous."

"Did you read something in some newspaper? 'Cause that's guaranteed to be wrong."

"No! You, Ron and 'Ermione?"

"Now, who is Ron?"

"Something is very wrong with your memory, 'Arry. Ron Weasley."

"The one in Australia?"

"YES!"

"So the one I've never met?"

After a few seconds of intently staring into each other's eyes, he asked, "What?"

"'Arry, just stay here. I'm going to get Bill."

"Oh, come on, Fleur. It's not April. Why are you guys doing this to me?"

"'Arry, this is not a joke. I'm coming back in a minute."

After a few seconds of just staring at the door, he lied down on the bed, holding Victoire in the air above his face. "Can you say Harry? Haaaarry! Harrieee? Harry, Harry! Okay, say 'Arry. 'Arry, 'Arry, Arr arr arrr auwauwau. Do you mind if I eat you? Just a li'l bit?"

* * *

"Hermione just ran upstairs crying. What did he say to her?" Bill asked as soon as Fleur arrived.

"Bill, something's wrong with him. Come on."

"Shouldn't've let her go." George said, getting up along with Bill.

"Should we bring Ron?"

"No, no, no."

"So what did he say to her?"

"Just... Come and you'll see."

* * *

"What?"

"Manamamees"

"Oh, your mum? She's coming. She's coming. What? Do you not like your Uncle Harry?"

"Oi! She loves her Unca 'Arry. She's just asking, "Ma name is?""

"Dear lord! And you wonder why I wonder why Bill and Fleur are friends with you?"

"What?" Harry replied with a chuckle.

"Those two are like, infinitely cooler than you. Infinitely."

"Nooo! You just think that because of your massive crush on Bill."

"I definitely don't -"

"Yes, you do."

"No, I don't."

"Ok, we don't have to talk about it."

She just shook her head. Harry relented. "Ok ok fine, so do you know this Hermione girl?"

"Well... I've never met her before, but I have heard of her."

"Really? What have you heard?"

"That she and her husband were your best friends all through Hogwarts."

"Wow!"

"I remember... Once Bill said that she was one of the biggest reasons you defeated Voldemort."

"Oh come on."

"She isn't?"

"I have honestly never seen her before."

"That's… Weird."

"I know. Maybe I'm in… An alternate dimension, or something."

"Uh-huh. What else is new here?"

"Do cows have wings in this world?"

"Oh well yes, of course."

"What a weird world I've fallen into."

"You must feel right at home!"

"I did, up until a few minutes ago when I made a poor girl cry 'cause of not knowing who she was."

"She did look pretty devastated."

"Yes. Now I feel bad for her. Can you imagine? Your best friend suddenly not recognizing you."

"Hmmm..."

Bill and Fleur entered the room to find Harry and Claire sitting on the bed, quietly watching Victoire playing with Claire's fingers.

"You don't know who Ron and Hermione are?" Bill asked as soon as he walked in the door.

"Well, I knew that you guys had a brother who was married and lived in Australia. But, no, I don't really remember them."

"Harry, you better not be messing with us because this is serious."

"I'm not, seriously Bill. This is really weird for me."

"Okay..." Bill said, turning to Fleur.

"'Arry, think about your friends when you were in Hogwarts."

"Most of the people I remember are either dead or… Here today!"

"So you do remember things from Hogwarts?"

"Of course. I remember some things. But it's not like you guys could tell me every little detail of your school years. You probably only remember a few things in between as well."

"Yes, but we do remember who our best friends were."

"Maybe we weren't that close, and everyone else was just assuming things?"

"Harry, you three spent seven years glued to each other. Trust me. You were in the same house, the same year. Ron was the keeper in your quidditch team."

After a few seconds, Harry said, "Wait, the Chudley Cannons guy?"

"Yes!"

"I remember there being someone. I don't remember who it was. He sucked, didn't he?" Harry asked, making George guffaw.

"He usually did. But seriously, how the hell can you not remember Hermione?"

"Yeah," George added solemnly.

"I don't know. It's not like I'm not trying to. But this means that I was definitely obliviated... Or something. This is so weird." He finished by trying to make a weird face at Victoire who maintained her amused look. "Weeeird!" He slowly said, moving his face close to hers.

"'Arry!"

"Oh oh! She was just calling for you, you know? She was saying something like 'Manamana'."

"Yes, she does that sometimes," said Fleur, coming to sit beside him and taking her daughter from him, "but stop playing around and be serious."

"Ok... Um, is she okay? I mean, I really didn't mean to... Piss her off? Hermione? And where is she?"

"She'll be fine. She's at the Burrow."

"Alright." For a few seconds, they were all quiet in thought.

Then Harry spoke, "Oh and hello George, Bill, how's it goin'?"

"Good evening, brother." George said with a grin.

"Dad probably knows some legilimency experts. We'll ask him after work. Now, when is the last time you remembered something about - Wait, no, what am I saying?"

"Fleur, when was the last time you guys talked about Ron and Hermione?" George asked.

"Like we do any talking!" Harry answered with a dramatic shake of his head .

"Shut up, Harry." Bill told him with a chuckle.

"Non, it has been months. I usually avoid it, you know. Because you remember how he was after they left?"

"What? What was I like?"

"You were miserable. You don't even remember that?"

"When?"

"What do you remember after Hogwarts?" asked Fleur.

"Just living with Teddy, and... Then just the seeker training, I guess, what else?"

"Harry, you were really depressed after Hogwarts."

"Yeah!" Claire said as well.

"Wait, why are you saying yeah? You only came here a couple months ago, right?" Harry asked Claire, looking a bit alarmed.

"Yeah, I've just been told that you were depressed."

"Oh! Well, no... I don't remember that at all. I just remember Hogwarts being... Boring, really! And then Teddy... And then Victoire, and you guys, and then Claire... How could I be depressed?"

"Well, when Ron and Hermione got married and went to Australia, you sure you don't remember at all?"

"You were really sad, 'Arry, for a long time. I wonder what else you have forgotten, 'Arry?"

Harry just laughed and said, "How should I know?"

"Yes, but... Okay, do you remember the first time we met?"

"Uhhh... The bolognese? No, no, no, the bouillabaise, right? You asked me if I was done with the bouillabaise." Harry answered with a big smile.

"Do you remember who was sitting beside you?"

"Do YOU remember who was sitting beside you?"

"Uh... No! No, I don't remember. But I know who was sitting with you."

"Well, yeah, of course, now it has to be Ron and Hermione."

"Ok, ok, do you remember Viktor Krum?"

"Do you have to remind me?" Harry asked with an annoyed look.

"No, no, I don't mean your practice. I just mean back in your fourth year in Hogwarts?"

"Okay, yes. What about him?"

"Do you remember his date to the Yule Ball?"

"Was it Hermione?"

"Obviously," Claire answered from beside him while Fleur nodded in confirmation.

"Ok, I don't remember her at all."

"Well, Harry definitely remembered that till a few months ago." Fleur said, looking towards Bill.

"When? Exactly?"

Fleur's face screwed up in concentration. "Hmmm... You remember a few days before his training was to start, Ginny, George, you and I went to cheer him up a bit."

"Hey, I remember that!" Harry suddenly said.

"Then don't you remember? I told you you needed to move on, make new friends... And then you told me to bugger off."

"I did?"

"Don't worry, I didn't go. I knew you didn't mean it. So I hugged you." Fleur told him with a smile.

"So sweet of you."

"Then you started to cry."

"No way!" "Oh even I don't remember this," George said, sitting on the bed as well.

"It was private. I did not feel the need to tell everyone."

Bill suddenly perked up with a surprised look which slowly transformed into a smile. "I remember. You came to the Burrow, like, two days later, and you seemed happy, and George said to me that the last time we saw you was alone with Fleur, and the next time we see you, you're completely happy. I wonder what she did with him. You remember, George?"

"Yes, I do, and thanks for sharing that with us all, Bill. Now, what did you guys talk about that night?" George said, avoiding Fleur's derisive eyes.

"Well, what I remember... Is a party, not an intervention. And definitely no crying."

"Oh, you could've filled buckets."

"Yeah, yeah, I'm sure you're not exaggerating. At all! But what did we talk about? Now I'm curious too... What in the world can make me cry?"

"'Arry, we saw The Iron Giant together. You don't 'ave to act so manly for Claire. And I can't believe you don't remember that day at all. That was the day we became such good friends, after all."

"Really? I thought that was the day we went to the new Fortescue's."

"Oh? What was that? Your first date?" Bill chimed in.

"Third one, actually!" Harry replied with a smirk.

Fleur did a facepalm but fortunately for Harry, Bill just laughed.

"Anyway, I think that's the last time we ever talked about those two. You asked me not - No, no, no, wait... When you met Claire, oh no, that was with you?" She finished by asking Bill who nodded.

"About what?" Claire asked.

"Well, you're a bit like 'Ermione, I was afraid you'd remind him of her."

"Really?"

"Yes, but he loved you, so I never brought it up..."

"In a friendly way." "You said that?" Harry and Claire quickly said, turning to each other.

"Thank god," Claire said and turned towards the others.

"Hey no what? Don't just resolve things that quickly, give us some ammunition to tease you," said George.

"Alright, I can help with that. Bill, did you know how much dear Claire here has been crushing on you lately?"

"Guys, don't listen -" Claire started to explain.

"We know, we know," Bill told her.

"You know that she's been crushing on -" Harry was cut off by Fleur's hand.

"Now, shhh, or I would give you to 'Ermione to do whatever she wants. And I don't want you to die, so please stay quiet." She let him go after a few seconds when she felt his smile shortening.

Harry slightly shifted and lay down sideways so that he could lay his head down on Fleur's thigh. This was a new thing with him. A recent discovery in the scientific world had revealed that running your hands through Harry's hair made him putty in your hands. Fleur, the proud discoverer of this handy little trick, had hence consolidated her position at the top of Harry's who-do-you-love-the-most list.

Claire had been introduced to Harry for the first time about two months ago by Bill, whom she occasionally worked with, at his house as his honorary brother, and his wife's best friend. At first, she was slightly confused and disturbed by Harry's closeness with Fleur, not only a married woman, but also a Veela. But then she'd heard everyone's stories of Harry.

Apparently half of the Weasley family was alive only because of Harry, and that was without counting Voldemort. Also, he had been the secret primary investor for George's shop. And Bill had even been introduced to Fleur for the first time as Harry's almost brother. And Fleur's sister was also once saved from a frozen lake by him (though Harry denied this one). Also, Harry was actually a rare kind of person, who didn't really care if a girl was a Veela. In fact, the allure was kind of a no-no for him. He treated it as a weaker version of the imperius, which he had been trained by a death eater to be able to repel.

And to top it all off, Harry had had a horrible childhood. And Fleur was really the only person in the world whom he opened up to. So, no one minded the fact that Harry and Fleur were so close. Although Bill's mom really wanted Harry to find a good girlfriend, once she had given up on making him fall for her own daughter, that is.

"Should we get Dad now?" George asked.

"No, no, he said he was gonna be pretty busy today. We can wait."

"So what do we tell Ron and Hermione?"

"Why not the truth? I mean, they might even have a clue about what happened." Bill answered George.

"What do you think, 'Arry?"

"I don't know," Harry said calmly, relaxing under Fleur's hands.

"I don't think they'll ever believe us."

"Not our problem! 'Arry has to deal with it."

Harry opened his eyes briefly to glare at Fleur before closing them and gaining his smile.

"I think we should go back. Mum's probably having a hard time with Hermione."

"Do I have to?" Harry asked from his comfortable spot.

"Uhhh... Not really, but it might be a good idea. Hermione, she's probably got the most chance of figuring out what's going on."

"But doesn't she hate me right now?"

"Her way of saying goodbye to Harry was fuck off," Fleur explained.

"That's…"

"Surprising!" George finished for his brother.

"Look," Bill said after a few seconds, "You don't have to come with us. But it might be better if you do. She'll understand once we explain it to her. And we should because she's crazy smart."

"Like super crazy smart!" said George.

"Really?" Harry asked Fleur who nodded.

"Alright," said Harry, getting up and picking up Victoire. "You coming?" He asked Claire who had remained on the bed.

"Uhhh, I don't really know these people."

"So? It's not like you know anybody else here at the party."

"True, but -"

"How the hell can you not remember Ron and Hermione?" Neville demanded of him a few seconds after Bill had walked out.

"I don't know, Nev. Or maybe I don't remember."

"What?"

"Maybe I don't remember why I can't remember... Nothing, nothing! It's just... I don't really know what's going on. Simply can't recall them."

"Fuck, man! Listen, I really want to come with you guys, but I can't leave Hannah here alone, alright? You won't be busy tomorrow, will you?"

"Probably not."

"Okay, I'll see you then then. And bring those two, alright? If you can."

"Sure thing, man! Where's Hannah?"

"Uh, HANNAH! Oi DEAN," he shouted after walking out the door and then waved at him to send her over.

"Good night, beautiful." Harry said, giving the pregnant Hannah a hug when she reached them. "Congratulations again."

"Thank you so much. You going to see Hermione now?"

"Yeah, I'll see how it goes. I don't really know what's going on, but we'll see. You guys take care."

* * *

"Okay, for now, just tell them that you're not mad at them, ok? You wouldn't be lying, but then we can ease 'em into it. They're probably in Ginny's room. Come on." Bill said as they entered the empty living room.

"I really don't think this is a good idea. I mean, alone? And what the hell do I say?"

George just started laughing, "Whatever you do, leave the door a little open. I really wanna see this."

"Shut up, George. 'Arry, We'll be right outside. If we come in with you, they'll think something is up."

"Well, something is up. Don't put so much pressure on me. You saw what I already did to that girl. Now you're asking me to lie to them."

"You're not lying. Just tell them that you're not mad at them. We'll be in as soon as they start asking any questions."

"Okay... Well, here you go." Bill said, opening the door as soon as he reached it. "Hey mum!"

"Oh hullo dear! Harry! Oh how lovely to see you!" Molly said, coming and giving him one of her hugs in the crowded staircase.

"It's great to see you too, Mrs. Weasley."

"Oh and Claire dear, you're here too."

"Yes, hi, Mrs. Weasley."

"Go on, 'Arry." Fleur whispered to him, seeing the looks Ron and Hermione were giving them all through the open doorway.

"Right," Harry said as he handed Victoire to her father, walked inside and, after giving George a brief glare, closed the door, completely. He turned around and saw the slightly terrified looks the tall redhead (obviously) and the girl from before were giving him, "Um, hey guys, Ron... Hermione... First of all, I'm really sorry about before. I really didn't mean to make you cry. And I wanted to make sure that you guys knew that I'm not mad at you guys, like seriously, at all." He had just finished when suddenly the girl practically launched like a rocket from the bed and was tightly wrapped around him.

"Woah!" "Oh, Harry!"

Harry regained his bearings after a few seconds and brought his arms around her as well when she somehow tightened her grip on him even more. Oh god! What did this girl eat?

By the time she let him go, the redhead was right there. "How are ya, mate?" He asked and came in for a hug as well, thankfully a very short and non-damaging one.

"I'm so so sorry, Harry! You must've been thinking how unlike me that was when I told you to... You know -"

"Uh, -"

"It's just that I was so scared and I had been preparing myself for you shouting at me in anger or something, but then the way you acted like you didn't want absolutely anything to do with me, I just couldn't stand it, and I'm so sorry, Harry, for everything."

"No, no, -"

"And you were completely right. Back then, Harry! We've been such enormous idiots. You were right about everything, Harry. I, we missed you so much -"

"Ok!"

"And you were so right, Harry. We had such a horrible time there. There was no way we could have made it out there just with just each other. We should've seen it before, like you did, and we left on such bad terms. I could barely live with myself remembering how we'd said our goodbyes and we sent you a few letters but you never replied, and I thought you didn't want anything to do with me anymore and I missed you so much and Molly said you weren't seeing anybody but there I saw you with that girl and I couldn't believe what I was saying to you and -"

"FLEUR!" He interrupted her rather rudely and hurriedly opened the door.


	2. A Forgotten Jerk

2\. A Forgotten Jerk

* * *

"FLEUR!" He interrupted her rather rudely and hurriedly opened the door.

Everyone outside was caught with their wide open mouth and eyes.

"Oh god!" Hermione was moaning and Ron had his face hidden in his hands.

"Listen, I'm really sorry… Ummm..." Harry said to Hermione and then turning to Fleur, whispered "Help me."

"Let me," Fleur said to the others, stopping Molly and Bill on their way into the room, "I know their history, so… Wait for us downstairs for a few minutes. I'll handle this."

"Are you sure?"

Fleur confidently nodded in response to Molly's question.

"Please stop crying," Harry said to Hermione while Fleur closed the door.

"I'm sorry," Hermione said through her sobs.

"Harry, that line never works," Fleur told Harry, going and sitting beside Hermione, grabbing her in a hug.

"It's alright, it's alright. He doesn't hate you. Not even a little mad at you. Neither is anyone else. Everything will be fine, sweetie, it's alright."

"I'm so sorry, Fleur, I just… I didn't even greet you there. I'm such a horrible person."

"You're not. It's ok, Hermione, it's ok. Calm down. Take some deep breaths."

"I'm sorry, I'm so sorry," Hermione said again, once her sobs had stopped.

Fleur continued rubbing Hermione's back slowly. "You ok?" She asked, finally pulling away.

Hermione nodded.

"You sure?" Harry asked. Hermione nodded again.

Harry pulled a chair from Ginny's desk in front of Hermione and Fleur's position on the bed and sat down. He sent a questioning look towards Fleur who sighed and nodded in response.

"I wasn't acting back at Hannah's party. I wasn't trying to make you angry or anything. I honestly can not remember who you are."

"That's not possible."

"It's true, I'm sorry," Fleur said to Hermione.

"But it can't be. It literally can't be. You can't forget us, Harry."

"We've spent too much time together," said Ron.

"What about the tent? Harry?"

"You mean, after sixth year, when I was hunting Voldemort's… You know about those?"

"Of course we do. We were there, Harry. Think, think. Think about how you got the sword?"

"A patronus. I followed it, and it was in the lake."

"How did you take it out? Think!"

"I swam, because I couldn't summon it."

"You wore the locket, Harry and it tried to drown you."

"No!"

"Ron saved you."

"But that doesn't make sense."

"Harry, our fourth year, the second task, who did you save?"

"Parvati, she was my date."

"No, Harry, you saved Ron."

"No! Fleur, is it true?"

"It is."

"Our first year, Harry. Who sat with you on the train?"

"No one!"

"No!"

"Yes, I sat alone. Neville came looking for his toad."

"Ron was with you. I was with Neville."

"At the end of the year, how did you get past all the obstacles?"

"I don't remember. I was knocked out because of Quirrell."

"No, Harry, we solved it together," said Hermione, now badly starting to tear up again, "what about the troll, Harry? Do you at least remember that?"

"What troll? The one on Halloween? When Quirrell came to the Great Hall?"

"Do you remember what happened with it?"

"The teachers must've taken care of it. I just went to the common room."

"No, no, no," Hermione moaned through her tears, "you saved me that day."

"What about in third year when -" Ron started to ask.

"Stop! This isn't making me remember. My brain's telling me that you're lying."

"NO!" Hermione shouted.

"I KNOW. I know. But it is. I'm sorry."

Hermione started sobbing again.

Fleur hugged her again and said, "We'll solve this. When Mr. Weasley comes back, we'll find a solution, alright?"

"Just like your parents, huh?" Ron said, coming to stand beside Hermione and putting a hand on her shoulder.

"They had amnesia too?"

"Harry, this isn't amnesia," said Fleur.

"Then? Someone obliviated me?"

"Something like that…"

"But who would want to make me forget my best friends?"

"I think we should go downstairs. This discussion isn't helping as much as I thought it would."

"I'll be down in a minute, with Hermione," Harry told Fleur.

After Fleur and Ron had left, Harry moved to sit beside her.

"Hermione?"

She gave him a sad smile.

"I like your name."

That made the two laugh a little. She straightened up and offered him her hand. "I'm Hermione Weasley."

"Oh. Right. Forgot you two were married."

"Well, we are for now. You know what, no," she said, extending her hand again.

"I'm Hermione Granger."

"Nice to meet you, Hermione Granger, I'm Harry Potter."

She chuckled and Harry continued, "Look, uh, I wanted to apologise. I clearly meant a lot to you -"

"You do."

"- and you must have meant a lot to me too."

"I... did," said Hermione in a broken voice, hiding her face in her hands.

"No, don't. That's not what I was…"

"I'm sorry."

"No, I'm sorry. What I wanted to say was, I'm sure everything will be fine. Even if this is permanent, I would love to be your friend again."

"You're still just as kind," she said with a smile.

"You're still… Gorgeous," Harry said in response, making Hermione beam.

"I don't think you've ever said that to me before... but thank you."

After a few seconds, Harry asked, "so should we -?"

"Let's."

Harry stood up and gestured towards the door as if to say ladies first, making Hermione smile again. When she was almost at the door, she abruptly turned around and…

"Oh!" "Woah!"

"Crap!" "Careful!"

"Well I'm glad you still have your seeker reflexes," Hermione said when Harry loosened his grip on her arms.

"Didn't stop me from bumping into you."

"That was my fault." After a few seconds, Hermione asked, "Harry, do you mind if I?"

"What?" Harry asked while Hermione put her arms around him, "oh right, no, of course," and gave him another hug.

After a period of time that felt either too long or too short, depending on whom you asked, Hermione pulled away.

"You still hug the same way."

"I do?"

"Yes… Awkwardly," said Hermione, turning to walk down the stairs.

"Oh. Right!"

"You ok?" Ron asked Hermione as soon as they reached the bottom of the stairs who smiled and nodded in response.

Harry came up behind her and extended his hand, "Hello Mr. Ron Weasley, I'm Harry Potter."

"Nice to meet you, you git."

At Harry's slightly affronted look, Hermione explained, "he means git in the best friend kind of way."

"Oh, right, sorry, I was afraid I'd offended you or something."

"No, it used to be pretty much what we called each other."

"Right, right," Harry laughed, "interesting."

"Did you guys make sure he hadn't forgotten anybody else?" Hermione asked Bill.

"Do you think there's a possibility of that?" Fleur asked in response.

"Well, a slight one… Oh my god! Victoire! She's so gorgeous," Hermione cooed, coming up to Fleur.

"Yep, that's my little girl," said Harry, coming up on Fleur's other side.

"What?"

"Well, technically, she's Bill's. It's not my fault she loves me more than her father," Harry explained while everyone else rolled their eyes.

"Right, right, yes, completely understandable," Hermione responded with a grin.

"Harry spends all his free time with either her or Teddy," Mrs. Weasley added.

"How's that little monster?" Hermione quickly asked Harry.

"Oh he's wonderful. Still impossible to take out into public without covering him up from head to toe."

"Really?"

"Yeah, I'm guessing he has a better memory than me and probably remembers you. Otherwise, I'm sure he would reel you into one of his metamorph tricks."

"Like what?"

"Like, once, I think it was when I introduced him to Neville and Hannah. He extended some of his hair and wrapped it around her wrist, and when she tried to pull free, he started laughing."

Hermione laughed, "That's brilliant."

"He doesn't know how to speak but he already likes to joke around. He's gonna be a terror when he grows up. That's for sure."

"How's Ginny?"

"Oh she's doing great," Mrs. Weasley answered, "in fact you can probably go meet her, she's going to Hogsmeade on Saturday."

"Oh that's wonderful. We should," said Hermione.

"How is Australia?"

"It's… A mixed bag, really."

"The shop's doing bloody great," Ron said towards George who replied with "Duh!"

"And college is wonderful. I'm learning so much. And Melbourne's just… A great place!"

"But?"

"But there are… Things... That we miss about this place. And although now they're happy with me, my parents were a bit hard to deal with at first."

Harry looked around, and everybody was nodding in understanding. Hermione took in his look and with a sigh, began to explain, "I, uh, I messed with their memories. And made them think they didn't have a daughter."

"Oh!"

"After sixth year. I knew I would go with you. But I wanted to keep them safe. So I made them think they really wanted to move to Australia, and they did."

"Wow. That's…"

"Awful, I know now."

"No, that's not what I was going to say."

"True, nevertheless."

"Anyway," George said after a few seconds of silence, "Hermione, Ron, this is Claire. Claire, Hermione, Ron."

"Oh! Hi, nice to meet you."

"Hello. You were the one with Harry at the party. Are you two…?" Hermione asked.

"Oh no, no, no! We're just friends." Claire was quick to correct her.

"For now," said George.

"And always," Harry added quickly.

"Even though Harry has a massive crush on Claire," said George.

"But she's into Bill," Harry said with a shake of his head.

"Uh-huh, anything else, guys?" Claire asked the room.

"And then there's Jon," George said dramatically.

"Bloody Jon!" Harry exclaimed.

"Jon loves her," Fleur said.

"And she loves him," said Bill.

"Even though we've already established that she's into Bill," Harry added quickly.

"So to hide her feelings about Bill, and put Harry off, she said yes to Jon."

"Bloody Jon!" Harry exclaimed.

"Jon's my fiance."

"Congratulations!" Both Hermione and Ron said to Claire.

"Bloody Jon!" George said this time, succumbing to laugher.

"Stole her away from me," said Harry, also laughing.

"Yes, well, Jon is very sorry, Harry."

"Bloody Jon! Hermione, he spells his name J-O-N. George, isn't that just so bloody Jon?"

"So bloody Jon!"

"He sounds really special," Hermione said to Claire after sending Harry a grin.

"He is, I just kept him a secret from these guys for a long time. Hence why all this."

"Is he from France as well?" Hermione asked Claire.

"You're from France?" Ron asked next.

"Uh, I am, wow, I'm surprised you could tell, most people can't."

"You've still got a teeny tiny bit of an accent."

"Well, okay. Jon isn't. He's English, like you guys. Well, except Fleur."

"Also me. I'm one-eighth Swedish. Hence my good looks," Harry quipped.

"Uh-huh. How could I forget?"

"When are we getting to meet Jon?" Fleur asked.

"Let me see. Today's Thursday. So… Never!"

"Oh come on."

"Fleur, I can't let these guys meet Jon. Just imagine what they'll do to him."

"They won't do anything. Just don't let them meet him without me."

"Sorry Fleur, can't take that risk. At least not right now. Maybe when we're done with uni."

"Oh you two go to university?"

"Yes, I'm studying Literature, and he's studying History."

"That's great. I wanted to go, but I hadn't really kept up with non magical studies while at Hogwarts. And then, everything just got crazy hectic near the end. Now I'm training to become a healer."

"That's wonderful."

"And Ron opened up a branch of WWW in Australia."

"Yes, George told me about that."

"That's going really well."

"How're your parents doing, Hermione?"

"They're doing well, Mrs. Weasley. They've pretty much forgiven me completely now."

"Their memory?"

"They got it back. Mostly. The main obstacle was really just their cooperation. Later on, they did give me a surprise, though. Turns out my parents really wanted a kid. So I'm getting a brother or sister soon."

"Are you serious?" Fleur asked.

"Yep. And I didn't even know my mother _could_ get pregnant."

Everybody congratulated Hermione one by one.

"So, what did they decide? Will they stay in Australia or will they come back?"

"They haven't given me their final decision yet. But chances of them wanting to come back seem quite slim."

"And you?"

"Not yet. I'll stay there for some time more. At the very least, I'll finish this year of my training there, and we'll see after that."

"What about you guys? How's everything going?"

"Everything's great," Mrs. Weasley said.

"I got into Puddlemere," Harry said.

"We know, Harry. We were with you when you signed," said Hermione.

"No, you weren't," he said confidently before chuckling, although no one else did.

"Come on, it's funny!"

"Buddy, it's not," said George.

"How the hell did we not notice?" said Bill.

"I get the feeling that I might not have made him as happy as you'd thought, George," said Fleur.

"What do you mean?"

"That intervention party that you don't remember."

"For weeks before that, you'd been miserable. And two days later, you were, well, back to yourself."

"He must've done it in that day," Bill said.

"Who must've done it? That's the question," Harry followed.

"Harry, we -" Fleur stopped, seeing Hermione start to cry again, "go to Bill's room. I'll be right there."

"Look after Hermione," Fleur whispered to Bill, handing Victoire to him.

"I think I'm going to leave as well," said Claire.

"Stay for dinner, Claire dear," Mrs. Weasley said.

"Oh no, Mrs. Weasley, I should really get going. Jon must be waiting for me."

"Just bring him here then."

"Oh you know I can't, Mrs. Weasley. Maybe one day soon."

* * *

"I'm guessing that the answer to who did it is quite obvious."

"I think so, Harry."

"But why? Why would I do something so dangerous to myself?"

"I'm afraid most of us know the answer to that question as well."

"What? Just hit me with it, Fleur."

"Sit down… Come on. The simple answer is… You were in love with a girl and she got married to someone else."

"Did I tell you?"

"You did, that night, but well, I already knew. I think most of us did. Bill, George, me, Ginny knew before anybody else, I think. We never discussed it. Except Bill and me, but I think we all knew. You did some things that made it fairly obvious to us all."

"What?"

"Well, for example, when Ron and Hermione announced their engagement, you snuck out without even saying congratulations to them. Later on, when Bill found you with tearstains on your face, you told him you were just so happy for them that you couldn't control yourself."

"Wow!"

"We felt awful for you. But there wasn't really anything anybody could do. Ron and Hermione loved each other. We didn't want to jeopardize their relationship. I don't think you did, either."

"But today, the way they were talking…"

"I know. But that all happened after they got married. Hermione's parents. They didn't easily forgive her for what she did to them. They refused to have anything to do with her. But she wanted to convince them and so… She decided to go live in Australia."

"You didn't think that was a good idea. And you made that pretty clear. In front of everybody. I don't know what caused you to act like that, but I think maybe you'd just been hiding your feelings for too long and they well, pretty much exploded in the middle of dinner while everybody was saying "That's amazing, Hermione. Congratulations. Blah blah blah." It was pretty spectacular, to be honest."

"What did I say?"

"You were brutal! Unbelievably brutal."

"What?"

"Basically, you told Hermione that she really had become stupider after being with Ron for this long. That it was as if she couldn't stop making bad decisions -"

"Holy shit!"

"- then you counted out what you thought would happen if they did move to Australia. Their relationship would never survive, 'I bet 7 months, George, what about you?'"

"You sure it was me and not some imposter?"

"It was you."

"Wow... Then?"

"Hermione tried to argue, but you basically shut her up asking if you even mattered to her anymore, asking when was the last time she consulted you about what you thought about a decision. Then 'you know what, I'm actually glad. At least I don't have to wonder if I mean anything to you anymore.'"

"Then she started crying and shouting, but you just said, 'you know what, I don't even care. Just fuck off.'"

"Holy shit!"

"Basically the three of you never saw each other again until today. The only conversation between you being a letter that Hermione sent to you which was really really harsh. I mean, you deserved it, but still… Thing is, at least what I think the worst thing is, when you said those things to her, you were just angry. You had just found out that your best friends had decided to move halfway around the world without asking you. And when she and Ron wrote that letter, they were angry. But then when you finally read it, you weren't angry anymore. And it just destroyed you. Like, completely. It was awful."

"Really?"

"You were depressed, Harry. It was painful to see."

"What about that night? What did we talk about?"

"Well, first it took bloody hours to even get you to talk."

"But after everyone had left, I decided to stay. I took a break from taking care of Victoire and took care of another baby."

"Thank you?"

Fleur chuckled. "You told me about everything. You talked about Hermione. Your friendship. When you realised you'd fallen for her. And then when you realised that she didn't feel that way about you. We talked for hours. I don't think you'd ever told anybody the things that you told me that night," said Fleur, her eyes looking a bit teary.

"Did you cry too?"

"Almost more than you."

"So you think I obliviated myself the next day?"

"No. Not yourself. You had to have help. From someone experienced."

"What should I do?"

"About?"

"Should I get my memories back?"

"Why are you even asking that? Obviously, you should."

"But… What if I start to… Feel that way again?"

That gave Fleur pause.

"What do you think?"

"I… Uh, I don't know if just getting your memories back will give rise to the same feelings. I mean, it's not like we can just flick a switch in your brain and you'll be back to how you were back then. We'll have to go through them one by one. Probably."

"What about Hermione's parents?"

"What about them?"

"Did the same thing happen to them?"

"I'm guessing so. You might've got the idea from that."

"At least it worked as intended, right? I was happier after that."

"You were. But it is a pretty extreme thing to do, don't you think?"

"I guess. But to be honest, I think I did the right thing."

"I mean, the person you described doesn't sound like someone I would want to be."

"You weren't that bad. Only sometimes, when something happened with Hermione or Ron. Otherwise, you were almost the same as now, only less friendly with the rest of us."

"That's good, at least except the last part. There's something else. Before, when I was alone with them, did you hear what she was saying."

"Only a little bit at the end. Basically just enough to know it wasn't going well. Especially when you shouted out my name."

"Okay… Well, trust me, I barely even said anything. Now, this is a bit weird… But I think those two might've broken up."

"No!" Fleur said with a shocked look on her face.

"That's what it sounded like."

"She said she was Hermione Weasley, for now. Apparently those things I'd said to them at that dinner that day you were telling me about. She told me I was right. They had a horrible time there."

"What the hell? None of their letters ever mentioned anything like that."

Harry shrugged.

"They'll probably tell the others eventually. I suppose they're afraid of Mrs. Weasley's reaction."

"What else did she say?"

"Uhhh… I don't exactly remember. I was pretty overwhelmed. She told me she missed me a lot, told me that a number of times. And she sent a few letters but I never responded. Well, probably since I had no clue who the hell they were when I got those letters."

"How did you reply?"

"I didn't. I got too scared. She just kept going on and on. She might've been hyperventilating. Then I called you."

"But then, are they still living together?"

"I don't know."

"Oh my god! You know, maybe she told Ginny. Those two were always quite close, especially when it comes to things like this."

"Maybe,"

"This is huge!"

"Hmmm."

"We should go," Fleur said after a minute of silence.

"Probably," Harry said, standing up and following Fleur out the door.

As they got to the bottom of the stairs, everybody looked up at them expectantly.

"What?" Harry asked with a nervous chuckle, jokingly glancing behind himself.

"You ok?" Bill asked him.

"Yeah, of course. Why?"

"Well, we figured... you know…"

"Did she tell you about that dinner?" Ron asked.

"Yeah. Makes me glad I don't remember anything. Sounds like I was a self-centered asshole."

"No, Harry," Hermione tried to defend his past self.

"Why are you defending me? I was the worst to you."

"You weren't. You were right. We had been neglecting you."

"So what? It's your life. Didn't give me the right to comment on it the way I did."

"You were our best friend."

"Not a good one, though."

"You don't have any of the good memories, Harry, or you wouldn't say that."

"He probably would. You know him," Ron quipped.

"Well, yes, but he would still be wrong."

"Completely wrong, Harry," said Fleur, "you're a wonderful friend."

"Fine, I guess I could be," Harry relented with a sigh, "but enough of that. I'm sure Mrs. Weasley is getting sick of us standing here talking and not eating her wonderful soup."

After everyone settled down, Ron reverently put a single spoon of soup in his mouth before he got up and hugged his mother tightly.

"I've missed you, mum."


End file.
